Gadhafi briefs Damascus on Arab summit

DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi arrived in Damascus to meet with Syrian officials ahead of a planned summit for the Arab League in Tripoli.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem met the Libyan leader in Damascus to discuss the agenda for the next Arab summit.

Moallem and Gadhafi agreed that the summit should focus on Arab interests through the pursuit of common goals, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.

Iraq was scheduled to host the next regular meeting of the Arab League. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the 2009 summit in Doha, Qatar, called on Tripoli to host the 2010 summit because of security concerns.

The 22 members of the Arab League meet in Tripoli in March. Baghdad hosts the 2011 summit.